


Forbidden (Hiccstrid Mermaid AU)

by HaddockWriter



Series: Forbidden (Hiccstrid Mermaid AU) [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Atlantis, Dark Ages, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forced Marriage, Marine Archaeologist Hiccup, Mermaid Astrid Hofferson, Mermaid and Human Romance, Princess Astrid Hofferson, Princess of Atlantis, Romantic Fluff, Serpent Stormfly, Shark Toothless, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28974264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaddockWriter/pseuds/HaddockWriter
Summary: In an alternate universe where mermaids live in constant hatred towards the human race, Astrid Hofferson the daughter of King Triton the Third was taught the ways of her ancestors ever since she was a little girl, teaching her to hate the human race with all her heart and kill them whenever she has the opportunity to, believing that the entirety of the human population are wicked beings that need to be removed from the face of the Earth.But after accidentally discovering the truth about the human race through an ancient scroll, she began to look at their common enemy from a different perspective, believing that not all humans might in fact be wicked after all...
Relationships: Astrid Hofferson & Stormfly, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Series: Forbidden (Hiccstrid Mermaid AU) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139579
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfic that contains an undetermined number of chapters.

WARNING: This chapter contains EXPLICIT content such as cannibalism, rape, child labour and a few other twisted atrocities which you will find out while reading the story. But don’t worry, this warning will only be applied to this chapter unless stated otherwise.

Long ago, the two races lived together in harmony, constantly helping each other through trade services to survive; with the mermaids helping humans to harvest seaweeds and collect pearls or seashells for decoration, while humans, on the other hand, would trade land crops and precious stones found beneath the earth in exchange for these gifts the mermaids gave them. It was a mutually beneficial relationship between the two different species, with both sides of the party benefiting equally from the other through their generous contributions towards each other. Peace, smiles and laughter were all there was during that time, some shared among the humans themselves and some shared together with the mermaids. Mankind was satisfied with what they have and the mermaids the same as well. The two species lived increasingly dependent on one another as the years went by, causing their relationship to flourish further. Although they were of different species, the two were able to look at each other as more than just allies. They were friends, partners, and in some cases, families. Everything was going perfectly well between the two and there was no reason for anyone to believe that this everlasting relationship they have would eventually shatter, not even in a million years to come…

At least that’s what the mermaids thought, until the dark ages arrived...

Evil struck the human race like a dark fog that spread rapidly like a wildfire, consuming the minds of everyone and everything standing in its way. The dark plague caused a large proportion of the human population to lose their sanity and act corruptly, almost making their behaviour comparable to that of an animal, or maybe even worse. Only those with high moral beliefs and have an upright heart were able to maintain their sanity. But what good is maintaining their sanity when it would only make their suffering more unbearable. The upright only had two options before them, and that was to either keep themselves isolated from the dark plague for as long as they can, or to lose their minds and join the evil as well. Unfortunately, not everyone was lucky enough to escape the vice grip of the mindless beings who relentlessly seek for more innocent victims to join in with their fun, adding more newcomers to their collection. Historians who charted the events of the dark ages used the term depraved, wanton or nefarious to describe the moral instability of the human race during the dark ages and to emphasise on the extremity of their acts. But in layman’s terms, one could use the term, feral. 

The people of the land acted with utmost disrespect towards the basic moral principles, practising rape, killing, stealing and other more indescribably wicked stuff as an everyday part of their lives without a hint of conscience bothering them at all. If a particular act didn’t seem wicked enough, another one more corrupt act than that will be added to the list, causing the list of wicked things that could possibly be done by a human being to continue expanding as though it will never end. In the end, the list was so wicked that the blood of anyone in the right mind would be frozen solid with intimidation the minute he or she reads it. It was a ghastly period for those who were unfortunately fortunate to have still kept their sanity. Many of them had longed for death but did not seek it, seeing as they were the only hope humanity has left in preserving the next generation. 

Everyone was a threat to the other, be it family or not. Females were used as a means to produce offspring and to fulfil the insatiable needs of men. Blood play was common with them while the men performed their ministrations. Not a single feeling of guilt or shame was felt by them at all as the remorseless beings used the women of the land to their heart’s content, anyway and anyhow as they pleased; the more obscene a particular act was, the more fun and satisfied they were. But that didn’t necessarily mean that the victim wasn’t having a little fun along with them as well as multiple lengths were inserted into a single woman at once, causing the victim to be torn between the tangible feelings of both pain and pleasure. Sometimes things that shouldn’t be inserted into a human being were even inserted into them as well, as though it was meant to be, and that certainly made the people inducing the torture grin from ear to ear; while the person being induced with it would cry out desperately for the never-ending sweet yet burning sensation to end so that they can have a moment of relief while they were stretched to the max. But yet at the same time, somewhere within them never really wanted the painfully blissful torture they were induced with to end at all… Their troubling conscience desperately pleading for everything to stop being betrayed by their body’s primal lust of wanting more. 

Children born into the Earth in a frail state were considered an abomination to their family, never given even a single day’s chance to breathe their life on this Earth as they were cooked alive for consumption the moment food supplies were depleted. Only the strong ones would be kept alive. But even if they were kept alive, their fate was not necessarily better than death itself. Capable children were forced into child labour at an early age of five, tilling the ground and irrigating the soil day and night with minimal rest and minimal supplies. The crops harvested were then selfishly consumed by the humans who “took care” of them, giving the poor children just enough to eat so that they can survive yet another day of torturous labour. Unfortunately, not every child was capable enough to keep up with the never-ending monstrosity that caused many of them to collapse and die while in labour, their bodies buried beneath the ground they were working on as the remaining children left alive used their corpses as fertilizers for the crops.

As if the women on land weren’t enough for them to satisfy their needs, vicious men would even capture mermaids to help further quench their undying fire buried deep within their groins, adding more variety to their collection of innocent victims. But this was no surprise to anyone on an honest note, since the bodies of mermaids were much more… well, desirable. Aside from the fact of being much better looking than all the women of the earth, the skins of mermaids were also exceptionally smoother than that of a human being’s due to the clear slick fluids their body would naturally produce to help them overcome the friction in water and prevent their skin from wrinkling. With these added benefits, mermaids were often much preferable over the common woman of the land, smooth wet skin only drawing the attention of more men to ache to touch their skin. The feeling of soft silky flesh in contrast with strong calloused hands only fueled the fire within lecherous men as they rutted their body against the lithe nimble bodies of the mermaids they caught the same way one would scale a fish with a knife. Once they were done using them, the men would saw the mermaids in half so that they could indulge in the meaty flesh of their lower body for consumption purposes. The upper half of their body will then be thrown back into the ocean, leaving the mermaids they raped with a missing lower half as they were left to bleed to death on shore; the oncoming coastal waves that come crashing erratically washing away all the blood and remains of their corpse, taking the mermaids back home to be buried within the ocean.

To protect the entirety of the mermaid race from the atrocities of the human race, their reigning king at that time, Poseidon the Great forbade all mermaids and mermen from continuing their interaction with the human race and isolated themselves in a hidden underwater city named Atlantis, where they were not allowed to leave the vicinity unless permitted by the king himself. 

Ever since then, mermaids have started training themselves to become warriors so that they can protect themselves from the human race whenever they need to. They began to adopt a military lifestyle and youths were trained to become fearless fighters the moment they were fit enough to undergo the intensive training. Every day, warriors would be forced to battle among themselves so that they can strengthen one another and be as prepared as they could in case a war between them and the human race ever broke out. Night times would be the only time of the day where mermaids get to spend some quality time together, having casual talks or playing games to unwind themselves from the intensive training throughout the day, but all these activities still remain strictly restricted within the boundaries of Atlantis itself. The only ones found outside the city were the guards who were constantly on patrol around the area to look out for imminent danger. Either than them, no one else was found swimming outside the regions of Atlantis… everyone except for the very indignant young princess Astrid Hofferson who always manages to persuade the guards into letting her out the confines of Atlantis to have some fun. And as always, this was done without the consent from her father, of course.

Keeping their identity safe from the knowledge of human beings was imperative. They knew for sure that their entire species would be in danger if humans were to ever discover about them, thinking that the human race would have the intention of wiping them clean off the ocean floor and turning the whole of Atlantis into ruins if they were to ever find out about them. As a result, any ship, submarine or other related modes of transportation that accidentally approaches near their territory will be utterly destroyed to pieces by the infamous mythical sea monsters that constantly haunted the deep-sea fishermen in their sleep. Such creatures include the well-known leviathan, kraken and other horrific sea monsters the mermaid race would send to protect themselves. And if possible, no one on board will be left alive… All this was done so that the mermaids won’t be required to kill the humans themselves, keeping their identity a secret.

Ever since a little girl, Astrid had hated the human race with all her heart and persistently sought to kill a human being herself if she was ever given the chance to kill one someday. If not for the crucial importance of keeping the identity of the mermaid race a secret, she would have volunteered to join the sea monsters in battle and impale the head of a human being with her deadly trident, taking the penetrated skull home as a congenial decoration to admire on her wall. But all these soon changed when she read about an ancient scroll she accidentally found lying in the king's chamber, left behind by one of their ancestors. 

At first glance, she couldn’t quite understand the writings on the scroll which contained words written in an ancient language, a language long gone before Astrid even existed. But that certainly didn’t stop her from wanting to comprehend the hidden knowledge of this lost text. Knowing that everyone else around her age would probably be as clueless as her when it comes to comprehending the text, the first person Astrid decided to look to for help was Atlantis’ oldest elder, Gothi, hoping that she might be able to interpret the text for her. A look of disappointment was written over Astrid's face when Gothi told her that she has no knowledge about the ancient language as well. However, not all hope was lost. Gothi had another scroll which was passed down by her great grandmother, a scroll containing the translations to the ancient alphabets. 

But even with the assistance of Gothi’s scroll which contained the transcription to the ancient text, translating the hidden message was still a struggle for the young Hofferson. A majority of the alphabets written on the scroll were a little faded or distorted although the scroll was kept well preserved in an impermeable waterproof coating. The edges of the paper had a darker shade of brown compared to the rest of the paper and some parts were either accidentally or intentionally torn off, or perhaps they might have even decayed to nothing due to the gradually declining quality of the waterproof material. Some of the sentences even had missing words in them. Accompanied by a few odd rough sketches that looked rather disfigured, the scroll looked nothing more than a mess of words a five-year-old toddler scribbled without putting much effort into it. The occasional smudges and stains painted across the thin sheet only added more to the mess, a mess the toddler must have made when he wiped his hand over the piece of paper before the ink was given enough time to absorb into the porous sheet. 

But, at least the scroll Astrid found was still preserved relatively well when compared to the other sacred scrolls containing Atlantis' law which Astrid also discovered while she was helping her father clean up the king’s chamber for the first time in years. It was all just out of sheer curiosity when Astrid first came across the particular archaic record written in an ancient language. The scroll was encased protectively in a multi-layered casing, kept much more delicately than the other scrolls she found from the other shelves, which most probably meant that the scroll was of greater importance than the others. According to her father, the scroll was supposed to be the oldest historical archive in all of Atlantis. He also deliberately warned her not to lay a finger onto it, let alone open it, afraid that she might accidentally rip the flimsy material in half. But as always, curiosity got the best out of her and Astrid slipped into the chamber on one quiet night to open the forbidden chronicle her dad repeatedly warned her not to. 

Ever since then, Astrid had spent weeks translating the ancient message every single night behind her father’s back, using the scroll Gothi gave her as an aid to translate the intricate text. After what almost seemed like forever to Astrid, she finally got it! The translation of the oldest text ever written in the history of Atlantis! It turns out that all the writings and drawings on the scroll were actually depicting what Astrid learned to be the dark ages and how it struck the human race, causing them to turn into the degenerative state their ancestors incessantly told them about. However, the writer believed that the dark ages were only a temporary thing and that the human race would one day return back to their sane being. There was even a section where the writer wrote down his reasonings for this belief at the corner of the scroll, but all the words to that part have completely faded... except for one sentence which completely took Astrid by surprise. The letter ended with the writer expressing his or her last wish, which stated saying: 

“I hope that the wonderful and glorious days where humans and mermaids used to live harmoniously together before the dark ages will be restored, that we may be able to see the human race as our friend, family and ally once again… and them the same as well.” 

Being taken aback by this new insight she just discovered, Astrid raced to share this new knowledge of hers with everyone in the king’s household, including and especially her father even if it were to mean getting herself punished for disobeying her father’s orders. Unfortunately, none of the king’s advisors was keen on what she had to say, not even a single bit. Most of them just shrugged it off and deduced that Astrid must have either made that story up or translated the scroll wrongly. But her father believed her, although he was slightly disappointed in Astrid’s disobedience towards him, which was of course not the first time. But, it was the first time in a long while, thus making her father more forgiving towards her to dismiss her punishment. Besides, he was probably too proud of the fact that his daughter was able to translate such an intricate text on her own without anyone’s help to even think of punishing her. After getting a team of experts to translate the rediscovered manuscript, it was confirmed, Astrid’s translation to the archaic manuscript was indeed correct. However, a majority of the advisors still believed that they shouldn’t reengage with the human race, seeing as the reasoning to the theory of the dark ages being only a temporary state was still completely unknown. 

To continue ensuring the safety of the mermaid race, Triton made it clear to everyone saying that the belief in an uncertain message written from the past would only cause them to be negligent towards the risk involved if they were to decide on opening themselves up to the human race as before. For this reason, the mermaids continued on with their fixed mindset of isolating themselves from the rest of the world and training every day to become stronger; everyone except for the peculiarly optimistic Astrid Hofferson who still held strongly to her belief, believing that not all hope for humanity, was lost...


	2. The Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really bad but I promise the chapters ahead will get better :P

"Fishlegs! I think I've found it! I think I just found mermaids and Atlantis!"

"Arghh... Not this again..."

"Hiccup, for the last time! There is no such thing as mermaids and Atlantis! Countless archaeologists have been looking for mermaids and Atlantis for decades now and no one was able to find it! And by no one, I mean literally NO ONE! They're all just a tall tale some senile old fisherman created that surprisingly tricked many people into believing it, including you!"

"Then explain to me this," anger simmered down a little when Hiccup placed his tablet into Fishlegs' hands, showing him an obscured image of what Hiccup claimed to be a silhouette of a group of mermaids swimming over a glowing underwater city.

"Seriously, another picture of Sirenians swimming over a bunch of luminescent underwater sea plants? How many more pictures of so-called mermaids and Atlantis are you going to show me? Do you secretly have a fetish for mermaids or something?" Fishlegs rolled his eyes at Hiccup, obviously fed up about listening to him claiming that he discovered mermaids and Atlantis for what seemed to be the tenth time this month. Well, that's assuming that Fishlegs counted correctly...

"What? No I don't! Erm... at least I think not..." Hiccup's breath hitched a little, startled by Fishlegs' sudden incursion.

"Anyways, that's not the point. This picture is not as simple as it seems. It's different from the other pictures I sent you last time," Hiccup zoomed in on the picture and switched it to a thermographic view, revealing the unseen Fishlegs wasn't able to see from the image just now.

"What? No... way! Are my eyes deceiving me?" Fishlegs' eyes shot wide open as he greedily took in the new information presented before him. Conflicting feelings of both excitement and scepticism were written all over his face while his eyeballs moved rapidly from one side to the other, carefully analysing every pixel on the picture to make sure that what he is seeing is actually the 'truth'.

"Am... am I really seeing what I'm seeing? On... only..."

"Yeap, only the upper half of the Sirenia's body is warm, it's lower half is as cold as every other sea creature," Hiccup helped Fishlegs complete his sentence seeing as he was so taken aback by this new information that his speech suddenly failed him for a moment.

"So do you believe me now when I said I just found mermaids and Atlantis?" Hiccup smirked victoriously at his blonde friend who was still gaping in awe with his mouth wide.

"Wow, Hiccup... I... I mean... I still have doubts about what I'm seeing right now but... I have to admit it, when you earned the title of discovering the undiscoverable from many prominent marine archaeologists out there... you really deserved it! This is the closest evidence humans ever have regarding the existence of mermaids!" Fishlegs exclaimed with his usual high-pitched squeal every time he and Hiccup discover something new beneath the ocean.

"This is certainly something only one true Dr Hayden can pull off," Fishlegs snickered and clapped his hands with a newfound respect for his childhood best friend who has yet again unveiled another secret of the deep blue ocean.

"Come on Dr Finn, we talked about this. You know I prefer to be referred to as Hiccup instead of 'Dr. Hayden' every time we talk, and you prefer to be referred to as Fishlegs instead of 'Dr Finn'," Hiccup said with a grunt.

"Ah yes, silly childhood nicknames," Fishlegs sighed in content as pure nostalgia washed over him for a brief moment.

"I'll never forget that day I asked you for your name and all you could produce was just a hiccup," Fishlegs pretended to make a hiccup as he laughed and recalled Hiccup jerking his shoulders involuntarily, a loud hiccup escaping his mouth when he met Fishlegs for the first time in elementary school.

"And you had this weird conversation with me during lunch break that day, asking me if fishes could use their tail as legs to walk when they are up on land," Hiccup continued and now it was Fishlegs' turn to be annoyed.

"Alright, I think that's a long enough trip down memory lane. I'm still embarrassed about all the silly questions I used to ask you back then,"

"It's not my fault, you're the one who started this conversation," Hiccup chortled.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Anyways, let's talk about something a little more serious now, shall we? We're in the middle of something big here. Where did you get this picture from? Is it from Toothless?" Fishlegs interrupted, bringing their conversation back on a serious note.

"Yeap, it's all thanks to my best bud, Toothless. I would have sent him deeper into the region to get a closer look but unfortunately, that's the deepest he could possibly go. Plus, even if he could go deeper, all he would probably see is just pitch black. But at least I managed to get this picture you're seeing right now thanks to the thermographic camera you installed inside Toothless' system a week ago," Hiccup mentioned about his underwater 'shark' with no teeth, which is actually just an intelligent robot in the shape of a shark Hiccup and the other engineers invented to help them explore the ocean.

"Ah yes Toothless, another one of your brilliant inventions aside from your high-pressured submarine," Fishlegs complimented.

"I would be lying if I were to say that I'm not jealous of you,"

"Well, what can I say? It's just one of the perks of having a masters in engineering and being a marine archaeologist enthusiast at the same time," Hiccup smirked, obviously very pleased with himself.

"But let's not forget to give you some credits as well. You know all my inventions rely heavily on your artificial intelligence software," Hiccup pointed out.

"Well, I guess that makes us quite a team, doesn't it?"

"Yeap, that's why we're best friends for life!" Hiccup clenched his hand into a fist to give Fishlegs a fist bump, to which he willingly returned.

"Alright, let's go get the crew and call them in to notify them about this new discovery of ours," Fishlegs stated as they both went to report this news to the other colleagues in their work station.

After conducting a long week of extensive research regarding the area where Toothless caught the image of the underwater glowing city, the team was finally ready to enter the submarine to get a closer look at the real thing themselves, ready to disclose yet another secret of the dark deep ocean floor...

"Be careful down there Hiccup, this place is very well known for its many monstrous sea creatures. Many newspapers have reported saying that this part of the ocean is one of the most dangerous parts of the ocean in the world due to the various sea monsters sailors would occasionally encounter while cruising here," Fishlegs gulped, a hint of worry expressed in his voice.

"Relax Fishlegs, there is no such thing as giant sea monsters," Hiccup just shrugged it off with a laugh, which Fishlegs clearly didn't find amusing.

"The newspapers are only reporting what they hear from the sailors. They have no proof that those giant sea monsters actually exist. Besides, it's not like this is our first time using the submarine to explore the ocean," Hiccup continued to scoff, not displaying any signs of worry at all.

"But it's your first time exploring somewhere this deep in the ocean," Fishlegs narrowed his brows at him, causing Hiccup to break his ignorant attitude.

"Hey, it's alright Fishlegs, I get it. I know you're concerned, and to be honest... I am too, but... We're marine archaeologists! It's an occupational hazard. We'll carry this out as professionally as we can, I promise," Hiccup laid a hand onto Fishlegs' shoulder, flashing him with a confident smile.

"Just make sure to always be on the lookout, ok? You won't know what's down there. Listen attentively to my instructions from the ship above, you and your crew members' lives will depend on it," Fishlegs replied in a serious manner.

"Yeah, got that, 'eyes above the water'," Hiccup saluted with his fingers placed in front of his right brow and let out a small laugh to ease the tension.

"Haha 'eyes above the water', that nickname will never get old. It makes my job as a navigation crew member sound so much more interesting than it actually is," Fishlegs laughed as well.

"Yeap, it certainly does," Hiccup gave his best friend one last hug before he and the other recruits joined him in the submarine, getting the engine and all the other systems installed in the submarine fired up before they embark on their journey.

"Alright crew, everyone settled in?" Hiccup requested for his crew members' consent.

"Yes, captain! We're ready when you are!"

"Alright then, prepare for deployment in ten, nine, eight..."


	3. Sinking Vessel

The journey down below was a long one, seeing as the region where Toothless discovered the glowing underwater city was about half a kilometre below surface level. With the gradually depleting light source at the bottom of the ocean, Hiccup and the crew had to be very careful while steering the submarine so that they wouldn't accidentally knock into anything that would stir up the shimmering sea creatures decorated with many vibrant colours swimming tranquilly around them. The bright shades of sky blue seen above the water quickly turned into shades of azure blue when they entered the twilight zone, and the dark shades of azure blue saturated into a lightless navy blue as the absence of sunlight painted the waters around them with a darker shade every passing hour.

After hours of venturing into the deep, they were soon met with the familiar landscape of the ocean floor Toothless discovered. The location of the glowing underwater city was almost impossible to miss. With its various vivid colours of green, yellow and red that gave life and light to the dull blue darkness of the bottom of the ocean, the sight of the glowing underwater city was one that definitely caught the attention of Hiccup and his whole crew on just the first glance.

"Keep your eyes peeled gang, we're here..." Silence replaced the mild chattering of the crew as they began to focus on the task at hand and all of a sudden, all that could be heard was just the sound of gradual beepings coming from the machines operating in the submarine.

As the submarine approached closer towards the ocean floor, their eyes widened in awe. The beauty of the glowing underwater city was so unnaturally beautiful, yet at the same time, it was probably the most natural thing that Hiccup and his crew had ever seen. It was a view that only nature itself could produce! It was pure, scared and untouched from any human being. Hiccup felt as if he was looking at the true beauty of nature displayed in its full glory.

As the crew slowly unveiled the splendour before them, they noticed that the city contained many structural buildings that were in the shape of giant mushrooms. And these mushrooms radiated bioluminescent lights that varied in colour from time to time, presenting all the different types of colours that are present in the spectrum of light. The lights on the mushrooms even shone in a combination of numerous patterns such as stripes, polka dots and so on, adding more beauty towards the already radiant skin of the giant mushrooms.

"Hmm... I guess Fishlegs wasn't wrong when he said that this was all just a bunch of glowing underwater sea plants," Hiccup thought.

But suddenly, an interesting sight appeared. Those giant mushrooms they were seeing seemed to be... occupied? But who are the occupants? The submarine was still quite a distance away from the scene and the image was a bit of a blur. Nevertheless, it was still clear enough for them to roughly figure out the occupants to be... mermaids, judging from the two upper limbs they have on the top half of their body and the brilliantly striking scales that glistened attractively on their nimble tail that glided with ease in the water.

"Oh Thor, Fishlegs! Are you seeing this? I think... I think we've found Atlantis! And there are mermaids here!" Hiccup exclaimed into the microphone but there was no reply...

"Hello? Fishlegs?" Hiccup spoke into his headset again but there was still no sound coming in either than the faint crackling sound of static passing through his ears.

"Sir, the communication is down!" one of the recruits announced with an untroubled look on his face but his voice was one saturated with fear and worries.

"Communication is down? That's... that's not possible! The communication has never been down before!" Hiccup felt his heart stopped for a moment before it sank into his stomach when the words of the recruit rang in his ear. It felt like his heart had drowned in a sea of cold blood that was trying to freeze his heart and stop it from beating as panic stopped the warm and steady blood flow in his body and replaced it with cold solid ice.

The sudden coldness coming from the panic attack leaving his body frozen in the form of a breathless statue with a bleached face as Hiccup found himself struggling to even move a muscle. And all that was appearing inside his mind was just... blankness, a blankness that was trying to consume every single one of his brain cells as he felt his nerves disconnect from one another. Unable to form any coherent thoughts at the shock of the moment, all he could do was to just witness the lingering blankness inside his head that attempted to slowly tear his body down from the inside.

All this happened in just a split second until suddenly, something inside him snapped...

"Abort! Abort the mission! We can't proceed without communication with the ship above!" Hiccup commanded.

"But sir! We're so close to..."

"I said abort! Abort this damn mission! This is an emergency!" Hiccup's blood shot from freezing point to boiling point in just a second the moment adrenaline kicked into his system, causing his crew to quickly work on returning the submarine to surface.

"Why is the submarine still submerging? Didn't I tell you to bring it up?" Hiccup growled impatiently, furious that his crewmates dare defy his orders.

"But we are! We are bringing the submarine up!" The crew exclaimed with fear, the same panic that had a toll on Hiccup just now had now fallen upon them as all sense of professionalism built from years of training and experience vanished in just an instant due to the unprecedented emergency of the situation they were in.

When Hiccup saw that his crew was indeed working their very best to pull the submarine up with every capability that they have, he paused... He knew that this could only mean one thing, but... he didn't want to believe it was real, he just couldn't. And that's when a crewmate of his confirmed the theory he had refused to believe.

"Sir! It seems like there's some kind of force dragging us down!" a crewmate voiced out the unspoken fear lying at the back of Hiccup's mind.

"Holy Thor! The sub is leaking!" another voice shrieked from across the room as water began to leak from the ceiling, triggering the emergency alarm that began to warn everyone of the imminent danger.

"Everyone! To the escape pods! Now!" Hiccup directed and everyone was gone from their seats in the blink of an eye.

Although the crew might have lost their professionalism while steering the submarine, they were still at least able to keep a small portion of their cool while making their way towards the escape pods, thanks to their weekly routine of having to practice being in a state of emergency like this. While they were on their way to the escape pods, the crew was suddenly met by a relentless wave of water that came running down the hallway like a stampede of wild horses in battle.

They were just seconds away from being washed away like a leaf on a river before the smart emergency system installed inside the submarine activated at just the right time, sealing the turbulent wave behind them when a hidden door attached to the ceiling forced its way down the floor to form a barricade to hold the water back from reaching them, granting the crew a few extra minutes to run for their lives. But even so, the persistent waves pushing from behind the strong metal door continued to demand entrance, as rivulets of water began to slowly penetrate through the tiny gaps found within the door. The whole interior of the submarine was a bloody scene by now with the red emergency lights located in every corner of the room flashing unendingly without a stop, making the water below their feet appear blood-like.

Soon, the water levels started to rise, as more water found its way through the tight gap on the metal door. There was no time to think as the crewmates reacted out of pure instinct to survive, legs carrying their bodies towards the escape pods as fast as they could so that they wouldn't drown to their watery demise. As soon as they got into the escape pods, they quickly reached for the buttons needed to get them out of the dire situation they were in. Fingers pressing onto the buttons repeatedly showed their desperation to survive as they impatiently waited for the launch system to execute the command to launch them out of the sinking submarine.

Being the selfless person that he is, Hiccup waited to make sure that all his crewmates were safe inside their individual pods before he finally went into his. So by the time Hiccup got into his pod, the water levels had already reached up to his knees. Sparing no further time at all, Hiccup finally launched himself out of the disastrous situation he was in with a sigh of relief. But just when he thought that things probably couldn't get any worse now that he's already found safe inside his escape pod, it did...

He realised that his escape pod had a small flaw. There was a small crack located on the edge of the window which permitted minute particles of water to trickle into the escape pod. Due to the crushing pressure of the deep sea region he was in, the crack started to get wider, causing more water to get through the small line. A line of crack split into two lines, and from two lines it diverged into another few more. And suddenly, it broke... causing the water level inside his pod to rise drastically, adding more weight into the hollow of the supposedly impenetrable case as measures of air got displaced by the cruel seawater that forced its way in.

Desperate for help, Hiccup cried as though this would be the last time he would ever be given the chance to cry as he screamed for help to get the attention of his crewmates who were launching towards the surface at an extremely agonizing pace, leaving him alone abandoned in his sunken vessel. His voice became hoarse, his scream cracked irritatingly while his face contorted into a mess as he tightened every muscle on his face to let out the most desperate cries for help, hoping that something or someone would save him from this helpless situation he was in although he knew that it would be of no use. He even considered kicking the door open to break free from his pod but knew that he would die anyway, seeing as he was so deep below the ocean that he would never reach the surface in time before the oxygen in his lungs failed him.

While in the midst of his panic, his loud screamings suddenly came to an abrupt stop when he saw something terrifying happen through his window...

From his escape pod, he saw what he supposed to be the tentacles of a giant octopus wrapping around the escape pods of the rest of his crewmates, gripping them firmly the same way one would wrap their fingers around a pencil. Only this time, the grip was too tight and the pencil... snapped.

Hiccup thought that his eyes couldn't possibly open any wider, but it did... and his forehead creased even more as more lines surfaced over his skin while he watched his crewmates die in the 'hands' of the vicious giant octopus.

"The news reports were right... There are giant sea creatures hiding beneath this region of the ocean..."

That was the last sentence that slipped out of Hiccup's mouth before he passed out, partly due to the horrific sight he had just witnessed with his bare eyes and partly due to the rapidly decreasing amount of oxygen left inside the sinking vessel. At this point, Hiccup had already given up all hope on surviving, seeing that all his crewmates had already passed on to another life... So why not join them as well?

The most he could do right now was to just silently pray that the sea monster wouldn't rise to the surface to endanger the lives of Fishlegs and the rest of his team, and to pray that he wouldn't end up in a terrible place in the afterlife.

I guess that's it... the end of Hayden Haddock's life here on earth, the end of his career as a marine archaeologist...

Just when he was just inches away from unfolding the mysteries of Atlantis itself, he lost it. Oh, how sweet this new discovery of his could have been if he could have just a small taste of this sweet victory and bask in the glory of this unparalleled success. But now that he was so close yet so far away from tasting it, his stomach turned bitter, and all he could think about was the missed opportunity he had in achieving what could possibly be the greatest achievement ever in his life.

Oh, how he loathed this terrible feeling of being so close to tasting success, and how he hated it so much that the cause of his death was due to the failure of the very thing he created that was meant to save his life...


	4. Who.. Are.. You?

Pitch black...

That was all that surrounded him when his two eyelids closed shut. Everything he heard, felt and touched... gone with the rest of light...

The freezing temperature of the deep sea water, the sound of water sipping through the cracks on his escape pod, the horrific vision he saw just moments before he passed out... all gone as he found himself fading away from the cruelty of the abyss.

He felt... weightless and idle... as if his mind had separated from his body and was now lifelessly drifting afloat in the dark void he found himself in, like a meteoroid hovering aimlessly in space. Only this time, he was alone, with no one else floating around with him.

"Is this... what the afterlife feels like? Just swimming around in nothingness forever?"

A thought came to his mind. His eyes were now beginning to open but he could hardly see what was going on around him. Everything was dark... but it was definitely brighter than the deep abyss he was drowned in. His vision was blurry. A film of moisture seemed to be over his iris, hindering his sight and preventing him from having a clear view. He had no idea where he was but all he knew was that his head felt light, as though his brain had been swimming for hours. His whole being felt drained and frail. He felt so weak that it even felt taxing when he tried to squint his eyes.

But suddenly, out of the darkness, a voice spoke to him...

"You're awake." A gentle voice similar to the sound of an angel greeted him as he woke up from his slumber.

"Wait... I made it? I'm in... heaven? This is heaven, right? It has to be. Her voice sounds so angelic. I must be in heaven. But... why is it so dark here?" Hiccup couldn't help but question himself.

He wanted to get up and see where he was, to look for the figure where the angelic voice came from. But before he could even lift his head, a force restricted him from proceeding with his intentions and gingerly hauled his body back down.

"No! You need to rest. Your body is still in a very bad shape." the same voice told him.

"What? My... body? I get to bring my body to heaven? No... this can't be right, unless... I'm not dead?"

A sudden realization hit him and he noticed he could feel a cold hard ground beneath him when he moved his fingers. He tried to lift his left hand but it felt ten times heavier than usual. He couldn't seem to produce the strength needed to overcome the weight. His body was drained from all strength. He tried to move the other parts of his body as well but it was of no use. It was numb as a rock and a sharp pain would strike him when he moved a certain muscle. On his forehead, he can feel a layer of heat hovering above it, giving him a much-needed relief from the uncomfort he's feeling all over his body.

"You're lucky to be alive. It was hard to get you out of that giant cylindrical tube you were trapped in. But thankfully, I managed to find a weak spot and broke you free. I'm not sure how long you have been trapped in there but no matter how long it was, I'm glad you're alive. I'm sorry I couldn't save the rest of your friends. You're the only one I was able to save."

The scene before he passed out flashed in his head again.

"I was the only one who survived?"

Hiccup didn't know what to feel either than to feel sorrowful and grateful at the same time. The girl continued examining the rest of his body, to see what else his frail body needed aiding with. Her eyes travelled downwards and saw that his fists were shivering and tightly balled into a fist. The girl suspected that his hands must be cold, so she decided to wrap one of his hands in hers.

Hiccup felt a jolt of pleasure at the contact of her skin. Her hand felt soothingly warm against his cold stiffened ones. And from the touch of her skin, he discovered something rather disbelieving. Her skin was moist, slick and incredibly smooth, almost like the skin of a baby's but damper.

"What had she been bathing in? How did she get such delicate skin like this? Has she been bathing in premium quality skincare products ever since the first day of her life?"

"Your fingers are so... rough... I've never felt a hand as rough as yours before..." the girl commented as she inspected his cold calloused fingers that became wrinkled from being underwater for too long.

Hiccup arched a brow at her eccentric remark. He wanted to ask the exact opposite about her skin but... it seems like it should be a question for another time. He was still tired and talking was still a struggle for him with his rapidly heaving chest that was still trying to breathe in all the oxygen he had been missing while his lungs were filled with water.

"And so is the rest of your body... it's just... rough all over the place." The girl sedately glided her hand upwards, dancing her fingers over his bicep and then to his shoulder.

Hiccup wasn't sure why but having a girl touch him all over his arm made him feel... exposed...

"That's weird. I don't recall wearing a sleeveless shirt. But... gods, her hand is so achingly warm and smooth. I just want her to touch me all over the place..."

Those words subconsciously formed in his mind and just then, he felt her delicate hands roaming northwards to hold his face in her palm. Her touch feels so good, so tranquillizing and so gentle that Hiccup was sure her healing touch could take away all the pain he is going through right now... if only she would touch more of him. If only she would allow him to bask in the radiantly tantalizing aura of her blissful skin by enveloping his body in those loving hands, especially the place where his muscles ached the most.

The film of moisture was still above his eyes. He wanted to know who she was and how she looked.

"Surely I must be under the care of a goddess now, right?"

Hiccup perceived, and his curiosity was answered when the girl used a warm cloth to remove the somnolent look off his face, removing the film of moisture above his eyes at the same time to reveal her yet known face to him. He adjusted his eyes and looked at the figure carefully. Whatever games his mind was playing on him right now, he certainly doesn't mind staying in it, because right before him was the face of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

With the veil removed, he noticed that the owner of the euphonious voice belonged to a girl about the same age as him. Her hair was long with wavy blonde locks bunched over the left side of her shoulder. Her hair looked damped, and water would drip from her tresses occasionally, making her hair appear to be glowing under the faint light of the obscure environment they're in. And over her head, he saw something similar to that of a crown, adorned with various eye-catching ornaments that twinkled softly like the stars in the black sky.

Still working on cleaning his face, Hiccup noticed that the girl had a rather serious look on her face, showing just how attentive she was towards this simple task at hand of just wiping his face with a warm cloth. And within the midst of her intense gaze, he could see an abundance of love and care in those ocean blue eyes that seemed to pierce his soul.

Those eyes look so fierce, yet so delicate at the same time Hiccup couldn't help but found himself drowning in the ocean of her blue irises. But unlike the cruel ocean he found himself drowning in earlier. This one, he wouldn't mind letting himself drown in...

"Nggrrhhh..."

Hiccup winced in pain when the girl brushed the cloth over a small cut just above his chin.

"Sorry, you got a cut there while I was rescuing you just now. But don't worry, it's just a small one." the girl smiled sheepishly.

But it wasn't long before her smile quickly turned into a frown. Once she was done cleaning his face, her eyes travelled to his chest to check on the pieces of cloth she placed over him.

"Your body is still so cold..." A piece of fabric was suddenly torn away from Hiccup's chest, leaving his bare skin exposed to the painfully cold air surrounding him as he shivered at the sudden change in temperature.

"What? What did she do? Wait... am I... shirtless? Did she..."

Hiccup felt mortified by the fact that a girl had stripped his upper body naked to reveal his very unsightly stick figure wrapped around in thin wiry muscles. And the fact that the girl was most probably one of the hottest girls he had ever seen in his life only made his self-consciousness worse. But his train of thoughts was quickly forgotten when another piece of fabric replaced the emptiness she left over his naked chest, melting away all forms of consternation as he let his body indulge in the new heat of the warm material.

"I'm doing my best to warm your body as quickly as possible, but you have to realize that warm water isn't very easy to get around here. I had to wait for many hours on an island nearby to let the sun heat all the water I collected. I could have left you bathing in the sun on that island but I didn't. I couldn't afford to let anyone see you or me, both for my safety, and yours. So that's why I decided to bring you to this cave instead."

The girl explained to him and his head started to feel dizzy again with all this new information she was overwhelming his mind with.

"What were you doing down there? You humans shouldn't be sailing near this part of the ocean. Have you all no fear towards all the large sea monsters we sent to shore to scare you away?"

"What? You humans? And that sea monster that attacked us was sent by... you? What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"You're lucky I managed to slip past the guards to rescue you or your body would have still remained trapped in that metal vessel. Hopefully, none of the scouts had caught me wandering off to save you." The girl let out a deep sigh before she continued.

"I just pray that whatever I'm doing right now is going to be the right thing to do... And I hope that it'll be worth it, for the benefit of both our future together... You, human... are the most important thing to me right now."

Hiccup wanted her to stop with her preaching so that he could get some answers but the girl immediately growled at him in an intimidating voice, saying, "But... if you ever dare hurt me or any of my people... I swear! I will remove your head clean off your shoulders! And you'll be the first human I ever killed."

Hiccup audibly gulped. He was getting even more confused by the minute about what this random girl he just met was babbling about. He had so many questions to ask but he could barely talk with all this numbness he's feeling all over his face. After allowing some time to warm up his facial muscles and ease the tension in his jaw, he managed to choke out a few words.

"Who... are... you?" his voice barely a whisper but the girl was attentive and read the movements of his lips rather well.

"Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Astrid Hofferson, the daughter of Triton himself, and princess of the underwater city named Atlantis... And I'm going to bring our two worlds together... So that mermaids and humans can live together.. like we did before..."

Hiccup wanted to gasp at this new information he received but the shock from it was too great that he accidentally passed out again. The girl was right... His body was still in too bad of a shape...


	5. Undulated Waters

"Gods, that was one of the weirdest dreams I ever had..."

Hiccup thought to himself as he awoke from his sleep, the groggy look on his face indicating that the dream definitely wasn't a pleasant one... or was it? Hiccup had mixed feelings towards the ethereal goddess he saw in his sleep just now. But that didn't matter, it was only just a dream, he thought.

He got up to sit on the ground, realizing that his body wasn't as frail as it was before and had regained its strength. But his head throbbed violently. Lying on the cold hard ground for Thor knows how long hadn't been particularly friendly to his body, especially since he had been spoiled with the comfort of sleeping between inches thick of soft cotton layered onto one another ever since the first day of his life. He held his head in his hand in an attempt to ease the discomfort and silently cursed the cold hard ground he was sitting on, wondering where he was and how he got here. He traced back his memories to the dream he had moments before he woke up and was immediately troubled by the thought...

Why was he still here?

This was the same solid ground he felt in his dream. The surface was rough, hard and rocky, exactly the same texture he remembered. He rubbed his eyes between his knuckles and squinted a few times to wear off the muzz in his daze. His surroundings were still dark, but it was unlike the familiar darkness of his bedroom he recognizes every time he wakes up to empty his bladder... He was still in the cave, the same cave where he saw that psychopathic mermaid lady!

Hiccup paused for a moment to put piece and piece together, trying to make sense of this new information his brain is taking in. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep in the cave or how long had the deranged mermaid lady been gone. But all he knew was that the girl wasn't here and he needed to find a way out before he gets executed.

Thankfully, a colony of glow worms could be found hanging above the ceiling of the cave, providing Hiccup with a faint glow that brought sight to his surroundings. If it wasn't because of that hint of light, Hiccup would be constantly banging his head against the cavern walls by now. Because through this hint of light, he noticed that the cave wasn't actually as big as he thought. The room was small, about the size of an average bedroom and there were walls all around him, meaning there wasn't any way in nor out of the cave... except for the pool of water located not too far away from where he slept just now.

Hiccup suspected that the pool had to be the only entrance to the cave, which would explain how the mermaid lady was able to bring him here in the first place. Seeing as the pool was the only way out for him, Hiccup decided it was best if he took a short dive to check the depth of the water first before he accidentally found himself gasping from the lack of oxygen again.

He walked towards the edge of the pool and dipped a hand into the water, having a feel of the unfriendly solution which almost took his life away as he breathed deep breaths to steady his heart and confront the water once again. Ripples surfaced over the water as he did so. But after removing his hand from the water, he noticed that the ripples didn't fade. In fact, it was the exact opposite. The ripples were becoming more undulated...

Hiccup was beginning to worry that the mermaid lady was already making her way back to kill him. He took a step back and furrowed his brow at the layer of disturbed water, his hands balling into a fist at the same time as he thought of strategies that would allow him to take down the mermaid lady easily if she provoked him. Given that he has the higher ground and is on dry land, he should have an advantage if he really needed to fight her back. He waited patiently for her to emerge from the surface...

But to his surprise, it wasn't the mermaid lady who erupted from the waters! It was a...

"Ahh! What the Thor! A sea serpent!?"

An azure blue sea serpent with a long trail of white as its underbelly shot out of the water and hissed at Hiccup intimidatingly, earning a frightened look from the auburn-haired boy as he screamed at the unanticipated terror before him. He fell backwards onto the ground and began to frantically kick his legs in the general direction of the sea serpent, trying to put as much distance between the beast and himself as fast as he could. But he was forced to come to a stop when his back met the walls of the cave, preventing him from moving away any further.

There was no way out for him now. He had to go toe to toe with a giant sea serpent that was approximately the same size as him but longer and thinner. The beast had a pair of fins on its side, ornate with patches of irregularly sized blue polka dots enwrapped in yellow rings all over it. And on its back, was a column of yellow spikes that looked as sharp as any two-edged sword. Its tail on the other hand, had a higher concentration of the similar spikes as its back. But instead of having only just a single column, there were rings of spikes circulated all around it, like a cactus. Only this time, its spikes were about the size of a pencil. As though that wasn't intimidating enough, above the serpent's head was a crown of thorns that looked like long yellow cones with pointy apexes protruding from the top of its skull. And on its snout, was a large horn with the same yellow colour as its crown. The tip of the horn was sharp as well and its tip curved towards the pinnacle of the serpent's crown.

Looking at the petrifying beast before him, Hiccup was beginning to question whether the beast was in fact a sea serpent after all. It looked more like a sea dragon he would normally stumble across in history books or paintings. He always thought that sea dragons were just a product of human's imagination and didn't exist in real life. But seeing as mermaids exist in the real world as well, Hiccup had no reason to question his disbelief about the blue sea dragon he's facing.

Hiccup had no other weapon in hand either than a few rocks he found on the ground. He could use the rocks and throw them at the sea serpent to make it back away. But seeing as he wasn't blessed with the skill of rock-throwing, Hiccup doubted that he could get an accurate hit at the sea creature. Thus, throwing rocks at it wouldn't be of any use. Instead, it might only make things worse and cause the sea serpent to grow more agitated. Hiccup leaned against the wall and pushed it back with all his might, hoping that the wall behind him would miraculously move to provide him more distance between him and the sea serpent although he knew it was impossible. Thence given the circumstances he was in right now, his only best choice of surviving would be to hope that the blue serpent wasn't hungry or craving for human meat.

He continued kicking his body away from the sea serpent and examined its movements. Being an experienced marine archaeologist, Hiccup had studied the behaviour of a large diversity of sea creatures, including sea serpents, and he definitely knew a thing or two about them. As long as the serpent doesn't lift its head to get into an attacking position and prepare to bite, it means he's fine. It won't be attacking him.

So far, the blue reptile showed no signs of preparing itself for an attack either than the occasional protruding of its long red tongue that was meant to threaten him instead of devouring him. The blue creature looked at him intently, slowly approaching him with caution as it did so. Hiccup felt panic yet relieved at the same time, knowing that it wasn't intending on devouring him... yet.

"Oh, hey... blue... serpent. Er.. Hi... have you seen my mermaid friend with blonde hair named... What was her name again? Er... Astrid? Is she a friend of yours?"

Hiccup interacted with the sea serpent, opening up the conversation with an awkward yet funny introduction, hoping that this small but friendly gesture of his would be able to distract the mighty beast from its current ferocity. The reptile paused to lift its head from the ground and cocked its head to the side like a parrot, seeming to be intrigued by his odd yet non-hostile behaviour.

"By the way, has anyone ever complimented you about your nice yellow spikes? Especially the yellow crown above your head... Is it er... some sort of royal crown or something? It looks really nice on you... He he he..." Hiccup let out another nervous laugh as he made up another silly conversation with the reptile. This time, the sea serpent didn't seem to be entertained by his conversation. It hisses loudly at Hiccup and stuck its tongue out, spraying its salivary fluids out of its mouth at the same time as Hiccup grimaced at the sight of the clear slimy droplets splattering all over the dry ground.

"Ok... I'm guessing that's not a royal crown and that it didn't like my compliment..." Hiccup swallowed a gulp as he mumbled to himself.

The serpent quickly dropped its head to the ground right after it hissed at him. It was now slowly inching towards him and Hiccup's blood froze upon seeing the serpent already making its way towards the soles of his shoes. The serpent didn't exhibit any signs of threat towards him. Its lips were tightly sealed as it laid a head above his shoe and Hiccup was tempted to kick the creature away but knew that action would only drastically decrease his chances of surviving.

Cold sweat was beading over his forehead as the sea creature forgone his shoe and slid up his leg, eventually reaching his still shirtless upper body. Hiccup didn't know what to feel about the tingling sensation that was creeping all over his spine right now but all he knew was that he certainly would love to have his shirt back on. Feeling the slick surface of the scaly creature slowly gliding over him at snail's pace disgusted him and made his body shiver with goosebumps standing over every inch of his skin. It was an eerily unpleasant feeling having his body coated in snake slime that felt cold and slippery against his skin. The serpent continued sliding up to reach his chest and then to his collarbone and neck. Hiccup closed his eyes and lifted his face towards the ceiling so that he wouldn't see the uncomfortable sight of the snake unhurriedly getting closer to his face.

At this stage, the beast had already wrapped its scaly body around his whole upper body, but for some reason had given Hiccup the liberty to move every part of his limbs from the waist downwards. The column of spikes lined along its back and tail also seemed to have retracted, making it look like a second layer of scales over its body.

Hiccup was confused as to the behaviour of the reptile. Normally, serpents would wrap their victims from head to toe and constrict every part of their victim's limbs in order to immobilize their prey. But for some reason, the beast didn't seem to be doing any of those things it usually does when it intends to devour its prey. The reptile was still wrapped around his upper body alone, but it wasn't squeezing the very life out of him.

"Maybe this sea serpent doesn't eat humans?"

Hiccup took a quick guess before he opened his eyes to take a peek at what the reptile was further intending to do. But regret immediately sank into his heart when he saw the serpent making one loop around his neck, only to then look at him intently in the eye. Its lips parted, revealing its thin flexible tongue as it hissed at him again.

Having the creature staring at him from such a proximate distance, Hiccup could clearly see the way the creature's tongue dripped from its mouth and branched out into two. It was a sight Hiccup always found repugnant about snakes even if he was just looking at pictures about them. And now that the raw image of the double-ended muscle was literally dancing over his face, Hiccup's face immediately turned into a sheet of white even though the serpent wasn't cutting his supply of blood flow by viciously strangling his neck.

"Easy there, sea serpent... You won't want to eat a scrawny fishbone like me, do you? I mean I hardly have any meat in me so that'll probably make me a very unsatisfying meal..." Hiccup laughed sheepishly, causing the reptile to be distracted again as it let down its intimidating glare and cocked its head to the side, looking at the boy intriguingly from another angle. Hiccup took that as an indication that it wasn't going to eat him alive but still silently prayed that the beast would uncoil its body from him and spare his life. Minutes had passed and the serpent continued tilting its head from one side to another. Hiccup thought that his prayers were miraculously answered.

But it was just then that the serpent fixed its head to rivet its gaze at Hiccup. A menacing glare was shot at him as the mighty beast opened its large mouth to reveal two sharp fangs that looked like it could pierce through centimetres deep of raw flesh. The lanky boy gasped at the sudden change of events as he closed his eyes again to mentally prepare himself to be swallowed alive by the deadly creature.

Time ticked slowly for Hiccup as he felt his heartbeat accelerating every fraction of a second. He suddenly wished that the mermaid lady would be here to save him from his despair again. But unfortunately, this time, there won't be anyone who was going to save him from...

"Stormfly!"


	6. What Do You Need Me For?

“Stormfly! What happened? I told you to guard the entrance! Not the human! Why are you coiled around him? Did he try to hurt you?” The voice of the same mermaid lady rang from the general direction of the pool of water, echoing throughout the cave. 

Stormfly recognised the silvery voice of the blonde and immediately turned her head to meet her with a hiss. From Hiccup’s point of view, the serpent seemed to be communicating something to her. Hiccup perceived that the two knew each other. Perhaps mermaids and sea creatures understand each other. The young lady arched her brow as she studied the sea serpent's gesture closely, as though she understood every single movement of the serpent's head as the reptile moved up and down, side to side and hissed accordingly.

“What? The human was trying to escape?” The mermaid questioned with anger in her voice. 

And the next thing he knows, the mermaid lady was drawing out a long silvery trident hidden behind her back. It happened so swiftly. And in just a heartbeat’s time, the three sharp points of the trident were already met with his face. From the way she held the weapon, Hiccup could tell that it was light yet strong and durable. But most terrifyingly, Hiccup noticed that she was an exceptionally dexterous trident handler, skilled in the arts of close combat. The way she gripped her trident and portrayed herself was like an elite Valkyrie sent from Odin’s very own army itself. 

“I just saved your damn life! The least you could do is at least return the favour!” She brought the tip of her trident just centimetres away from Hiccup's neck and growled, muttering a "stupid human" at the end of her sentence.

"Return the favour? Your lizard friend here was just about to eat me!" Hiccup closed his eyes in fear of the blonde Valkyrie and turned his face away from the sharp object that was more than ready to be thrusted straight through his throat.

“Stormfly doesn’t eat humans! That's disgusting! How dare you think so lowly of her? Is this what humans think all sea serpents are? Low life beings who have an appetite for human meat?" She scoffed at the man bound by the said creature. 

Stormfly was offended by the human’s words as well. She raised her tail in the air and extended the spikes coated onto it, making it look like a sharp studded bludgeon ready to peel his skin off his flesh. Hiccup could only watch with terror at the tail full of spikes glaring at him, unsure of how he was going to go through the excruciating pain of letting a dozen sharp knives tear through his thin wiry body.

“Easy girl, he’s just a human. Don’t take his words too seriously.” The blonde girl caressed the reptile’s head. Although she didn’t explicitly say it, Hiccup could tell that the mermaid was referring to him as the low life creature instead. The mermaid probably didn’t have a good experience with humans the last time she met one. Hiccup thought. 

The creature immediately lowered her deadly weapon upon receiving the girl’s touch. Its features had even relaxed. And all of a sudden, the serpent looked like a harmless pet reptile one could easily find in the zoo that had been domesticated by humans since birth. 

“If your pet lizard doesn’t eat humans, then why is she wrapped around me?” Hiccup answered back, having the courage to speak, having gotten used to the perpetual sources of peril coming from both the blonde and her sea serpent at the same time. 

“She was trying to prevent you from escaping! I had specifically told her to guard the entrance while I’m gone! So that you won't attempt to leave this cave! But since you ungrateful human immediately sought the opportunity to escape the minute I was gone, she had no choice but to put you in this restricted situation!” 

The lady continued roaring louder each time she spoke and Hiccup couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes seemed to be blazing like a fiery furnace despite the blueness of her eyes. Her eyes were infinitely expressive and Hiccup was apparently more afraid of looking at her in the eye rather than the trident she still had held towards him. Her eyes were like flaming arrows that darted straight into his soul, burning his heart and chest as he felt his skin set ablaze like fire licking onto dry leaves despite the cold he was feeling in the dark cave. 

“Besides, I don't suppose you humans taste good anyway! And you hardly have any meat for her to feast on. Why would she want to eat you?” The mermaid continued scoffing. Despite the intensity of the situation he was in, Hiccup still felt his self-esteem ‘hurt’ a little by the mermaid’s comment. That entrancing face of hers did nothing but only aggravated the ‘pain’ he was feeling. 

“Then why did she attempt to bite me?” Hiccup still didn't believe the mermaid's words about him not being the serpent's dinner. 

“Well, you're lucky she didn’t actually bite you. Because if she did, you won’t be talking to me right now.” The blonde answered casually, as though it was something common for her to say. 

“So your pet serpent was trying to poison me?” Hiccup’s voice hitched, his face washed white again knowing that he was so close to tasting death.

“Her bite isn’t venomous. Only her spike is. One sting of her spike can put a wild yak into a very slow and agonizing death that will kill it within three full days. You should be grateful she kept her tail far away from you.” 

Hiccup only rolled his eyes, sarcastically thanking the beast although he rather not do so. But his question still wasn't answered.

“So if her bite isn’t venomous then... what does it do? Paralyzes me?” Hiccup questioned. It was a piece of information he read somewhere before regarding certain species of snakes but could only vaguely remember it. 

“Yeap, you got it right, pretty face. I guess you’re not as dumb as I thought after all.” The girl smiled smugly at him, enjoying the way Hiccup seemed infuriated by her words. 

Hiccup continued observing the way the sea serpent behaved so calmly around the girl and he couldn’t help but wonder.

“So let me get this straight. You can talk to animals the same way you can talk to humans?” He quirked a brow as he quizzed. 

“No, not quite. I can’t exactly talk to her the same way I’m talking with you right now. But, we still understand each other, although it took quite some time for us to actually do so. Sea serpents are highly intelligent creatures, you know, especially Stormfly. In fact, she might very well be more intelligent than you. Isn’t that right, girl?” The mermaid praised her pet serpent and scratched the underside of her head in a rather affectionate manner, a total opposite from the death glare she shot at him just minutes before. The creature seemed to immensely enjoy the mermaid’s deft fingers, seeing as the reptile’s focus was thrown off and her scaly grip on Hiccup’s body had loosened.

Exasperated by the mermaid’s scornful manner towards him, Hiccup wanted to reply to her comment with something snarky as well but didn’t, considering that his very life is literally under her mercy right now. 

“So… since you can talk to your pet right here… Will you mind getting me out of her grasp?” Hiccup asked her in the kindest tone possible but clearly, his tone reflected otherwise. 

“Well, it depends…” She smiled nonchalantly. “Will you promise to be a good human and never escape this place again?” 

“What? Am I like your prisoner or something?” 

“Yes... at least for now. Until you have fulfilled my purpose. Then I’ll let you go.”

“Your purpose? What do you need me for?” Hiccup wheezed, curiosity and panic tainting the sound of his voice.

“For research...” The mermaid answered him in a nonchalant tone again, accelerating the trepidation in Hiccup’s heart as he began to wonder what could ‘research’ possibly mean.

“Are you going to hurt me?” 

“Hopefully not. I don’t intend on using any form of violence against you. But it all depends on how much you’re willing to cooperate with me. The more you’re willing to cooperate, the easier it will be for the both of us, and the sooner I will let you go.”

“So, do we have a deal or not? Human…” She looked at him in the eye and hissed softly. 

Despite how ludicrous this whole conversation was, Hiccup knew she was being dead serious about it. Not only was the mermaid a goddess-like warrior who can easily impale his head on a trident without ineptitude, she even had a deadly sea serpent that would heed everything according to her command. There was no choice left for him to choose other than to agree to whatever crazy plan the mermaid has in store for him. 

Silently hoping that he won’t be regretting the decision he’s going to make. Hiccup answered:

“Yes, I’ll cooperate with you.”


End file.
